It’s nearly impossible to watch a newscast without some mention of the opioid crisis in the United States. But even though the use of harmful habit-forming drugs receives significant media coverage, a large group of the population is overlooked: young people. Due to factors such as peer pressure, curiosity and availability, drug use is an increasing problem among youth in America. Unfortunately, despite the growing need for assistance, young people are overlooked when it comes to receiving adequate treatment. Limited access to effective treatment means many young people die without the proper...

Among today’s novelty-seeking youth, there is another rising fad – vaping. According to a 2017 National Institutes of Drug Abuse, more than one in four high school seniors reported vaping in the previous year. Searching online, you can also effortlessly find many cool-looking guys teaching how to blow out bizarre shapes of smoke rings to stunt your peers. Same as poppies, vaping looks charming and gorgeous, but addictive and toxic in essence. It is not an innocent healthier substitution to real cigarettes as it acclaims. Indeed, the nicotine it contains is no less lethal. What’s more, the most...

She holds a white basin firmly in her hands as she approaches the small garden with a determined look in her eye. Chilufya Musonda, a 30-year-old single mother with mounting bills to pay, stops briefly to re-adjust the chitenge wrap that firmly secures the baby girl on her back. Finally in the garden; Musonda gently pulls at a luminously succulent red tomato and places it in her basin. She repeats this action several times, loading her mid-sized basin with vegetables of various shapes, sizes and colours. When she’s done; she heads back home to begin to prepare their meals.

Words can have a great impact on people. Whether spoken or via text, it can affect us in both good and bad ways. Words can affect us in a way that we may not realize sometimes and it can emotionally scar us too, even if we do not like admitting it. Believe it or not, even the toughest of people can be hurt by words. They may not show it to you, but it does a lot of hurt to them sometimes, even if they don’t care most times. When we tell something to someone and they react badly, we may think that our words are not a big deal, but they really are. We may think that we were joking or we did not...

“The mental health is the priceless fuel that energizes the soul, which controls all the elements in the realm of existence and pilots the body systems. Life exists between two resting periods. The sleep resting period and the death. In each phase, the soul loses connection with many elements save for the mental health. The healthier the mental wellbeing, the safer is for the soul; and the lengthy a life becomes.” ~Bamalum Buji Mustapha

How can we maintain mental health and wellbeing post COVID-19? I hope my poem reaches everyone. :) Open your eyes as the Sun rise, "Meditate", whispers the angel on one side, "How??" Angrily on the other side, the Devil cries. Ok. So freshen up and take the easiest yoga pose Yeah, for first timers it's difficult But try and see how fast and away the devil goes! Now there are always some people complaining about "Oh! With so many weird thoughts hovering in Can I ever meditate? I doubt!" For them too I have something to say Keep the pose, yes, the yogi one, And think what good you can do today...

Today more than ever we live in uncertain times: countries closing their borders, empty schools and universities, overwhelmed hospitals, people locked in their homes for weeks and the global economy suffering a major blow. We have seen how people left supermarkets empty; buying food, masks, and disinfectants compulsively. We have seen acts of racism and discrimination against certain collectives fearing that they may be infected with coronavirus. We have seen politicians fighting and blaming each other, trying to take advantage of the situation instead of fighting for the common good. We have...

Coronavirus are an extensive family of viruses, some of wich can cause various human diseases, ranging from common cold to SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). On February 11, 2020 the World Health Organization announced the official name: Coronavirus Disease 2019. Abbreviated COVID-19 "Co" corresponds to "Corona", "Vi" to virus, "D" to "Disease" and "19" year in which it was discovered. It is an infectious disease caused by the new strain of Coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans: Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is not Wuhan Virus, Asian Virus or Chinese Virus. It...

With rise to the COVID-19 cases in Africa that took place mainly in March 2020, specifically that of South Africa, which currently has the highest cases in Africa and not to forget where already, the economy is at its possible worst. What will the outcome be? How will we solve this? Surely this pandemic is affecting all nations of the world, but many were already worried that if it were to "arrive" in Africa it would be at its worst because African countries do not have the right healthcare facilities and infrastructure to tackle this. When the economy is already bad, what more to the future...